Wordclay Poetry Contest

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The Wordclay Poetry Contests are no longer open for submissions. Thank you for your interest, and thanks to everyone who entered. The winners will be announced Feb. 25, 2008.


Choose the Book of Poetry category if you have a collection of poetry you wish to publish. A book, once formatted into a 5"x8" book or larger, should reach a 48-page minimum.	Choose the Single Poem category if you wish to enter one or more poems individually, or if you do not have enough poems in your collection.

How to Enter the Book of Poetry Contest | Contest Details | Prizes

How to Enter the Book of Poetry Contest

Step 1: If you have not already, register at: http://www.wordclay.com/BookWork/UserRegistration.aspx

Step 2: After you are logged in, click the "Start a new book" button located on the Author Control Panel Web page.

Step 3: Begin using the publishing wizard to submit the title of your entry:

Enter the title of your poetry book.
In the subtitle entry slot, type "Poetry Contest Book."
Enter your name or pen name.
After you've completed this, you do not have to continue further in the wizard. You can save and exit the publishing wizard.

Step 4: Send your book of poetry via e-mail.

E-mail your collection of poetry to contests@wordclay.com as an attachment, in a Microsoft Word file.
In the subject line of the e-mail, type "Book of Poetry Contest."
In the body of the e-mail, include your full name, phone number and e-mail address.
Your entire work will be reviewed, but only up to the first 60 pages. Please arrange your work accordingly if you have an extensive collection and there is a particular poem that is important to the work as a whole.

The deadline to submit an entry for the contest is 11:59 PM ET on February 3, 2008 (before February 4).

By submitting the poem and entering this contest, you accept and agree to the Terms & Conditions of the contest.

Contest Details: Book of Poetry

All poetry is by nature unique and individual. We are supportive of all forms of poetic expression; however, for this contest, we ask that you adhere to these terms:

In order to enter, each poet must register online at www.Wordclay.com and submit his or her work electronically as a Microsoft Word document.

There are no entry fees, no subsidy payment and no purchases of any kind required to enter and/or win the contest.

There are no previous publishing requirements to enter this contest.

Entries are judged on the basis of originality, creative imagination, characterization, artistic quality and the adherence to line limits. All decisions by the judges are final.

Each writer retains the copyright to his or her work. The winners’ poems may be included in a book published through www.Wordclay.com. The contest’s winners will be featured on www.Wordclay.com.

Wordclay is under no obligation to publish every poem that is entered and can disqualify an entry at any time. The contestant is under no obligation whatsoever to purchase a copy of the publication in which his or her poem(s) may appear.

Due to formatting restrictions, www.Wordclay.com retains the right to reformat the poetry for size and placement. Though we will make every effort to preserve line breaks and stanza breaks, we will not be able to guarantee retention of format from the writer’s original file. Please keep this in mind if submitting “concrete poetry.”

Notification: All prize winners will be notified via e-mail and posted on www.Wordclay.com.

For the book of poetry contest, keep in mind that there is a minimum page count requirement of 48 pages for a completed book. If you do not have enough material to fill 48 pages of a 5"x8" book (or larger), please enter the Single Poem poetry contest instead.

For poetry books more than 60 pages, if there are poems that you consider to be the best or the primary driving force of your work, it is up to you to adjust the sequence of your poems if key poems fall after the 60 page limit, or they will not be included in the judged content.

Note: While we respect the right of individuals to freely express themselves in poetry, we do not accept poetry that is explicitly offensive. Therefore, we ask that poets who submit their work to our contests be considerate of this policy.

For more information about our finalist judges, click here.

Prizes for Book of Poetry Contest

One Grand Prize winner will receive:

$500 cash
25 free books (shipping and handling included)
Publishing package that includes: Custom Typesetting Interior ($249 value), Custom Cover Design ($999 value), 1 Year Softcover Channel Distribution ($99 value) and Press Release Composition ($149 value).

One Runner Up will receive:

$250 cash
10 free books (shipping and handling included)
Publishing package that includes: Custom Typesetting Interior ($249 value), Custom Cover Design ($999 value) and 1 Year Softcover Channel Distribution ($99 value).

All participants receive a certificate of achievement.

How to Enter | Poetry Contest Details | Prizes

How to Enter the Single Poem Poetry Contest

Step 1: If you have not already, register at: http://www.wordclay.com/BookWork/UserRegistration.aspx

Step 2: After you are logged in, click the "Start a new book" button located on the Author Control Panel Web page.

Step 3: Begin using the publishing wizard to submit the title of your entry:

Enter the title of your poem (if submitting more than one poem, only enter one title).
In the subtitle entry slot, type "Poetry Contest Individual."
Enter your name or pen name.
After you've completed this, you do not have to continue further in the wizard. You can save and exit the publishing wizard.

Step 4: Select the poem(s) you wish to enter in the contest and send them via e-mail.

E-mail your selected poem(s) to contests@wordclay.com as an attachment, in a Microsoft Word file.
You can enter a maximum of 5 individual poems, each poem must be 50 lines or fewer.
If you're submitting more than one poem, keep each poem separate in its own Microsoft Word file, but send only one e-mail (one e-mail with multiple attachments).
Include your name on each page of your submission
In the subject line of the e-mail, type "Individual Poetry Contest."
In the body of the e-mail, include your full name, phone number and e-mail address.

The deadline to submit an entry for the contest is 11:59 PM ET on February 3, 2008 (before February 4).

By submitting the poem and entering this contest, you accept and agree to the Terms & Conditions of the contest.

Contest Details: Single Poem

All poetry is by nature unique and individual. We are supportive of all forms of poetic expression; however, for this contest, we ask that you adhere to these terms:

In order to enter, each poet must register online at www.Wordclay.com and submit his or her work electronically as a Microsoft Word document.

There are no entry fees, no subsidy payments and no purchases of any kind required to enter and/or win the contest.

There are no previous publishing requirements required to enter this contest.

Entries are judged on the basis of originality, creative imagination, characterization, artistic quality and the adherence to line limits. All decisions by the judges are final.

Each writer retains the copyright to his or her work.

The 100 finalists' poems will be included in an anthology published through www.Wordclay.com. All non-finalist participants will be eligible to receive a free electronic copy of the finished collection. The finalists will receive a printed and bound copy of the finished book at no cost. The contest’s winners will be featured on www.Wordclay.com.

Wordclay is under no obligation to publish every poem that is entered and can disqualify an entry at any time. The contestant is under no obligation whatsoever to purchase a copy of the publication in which his or her poem(s) may appear.

Due to formatting restrictions within the finished collection, www.Wordclay.com retains the right to reformat the poetry for size and placement. Though we will make every effort to preserve line breaks and stanza breaks, we will not be able to guarantee retention of format from the writer’s original file. Please keep this in mind if submitting “concrete poetry.”

Notification: All prize winners will be notified via e-mail and posted on www.Wordclay.com.

Please enter a maximum of five individual poems; each poem must be 50 lines or fewer.

Note: While we respect the right of individuals to freely express themselves in poetry, we do not accept poetry that is explicitly offensive. Therefore, we ask that poets who submit their work to our contests be considerate of this policy.

For more information about our finalist judges, click here.

Prizes for the Single Poem Poetry Contest

One Grand Prize winner will receive:

$500 cash
Their poem will be the featured selection in the Anthology of the top 100 poems
A printed and bound copy of the published Anthology

One Runner Up will receive:

$250 cash
A printed and bound copy of the published Anthology of the top 100 poems

The 100 finalists will receive:

A printed and bound copy of the published Anthology of the top 100 poems

All non-finalist participants will receive:

An electronic copy (e-book) of the published Anthology of the top 100 poems

All participants receive a certificate of achievement.

Terms & Conditions | Finalist Judges